The OpenSolaris governing board fell on its collective sword Monday and resigned en masse after Oracle continued to ignore its ultimatum to appoint a liaison guy to work with it on the future of the open source project. The move was anticlimactic to say the least. Oracle last week leaked an internal e-mail into the wild effectively saying OpenSolaris is dead. The news of the mass resignation, coupled with Oracle suing Google claiming Android infringes on its Java patents, had Adobe's director of open source and standards David McAllister casting Oracle as the New Microsoft and saying "the axis of evil has shifted south about 850 miles or so".

Ultimatums are usually given from a position of strength, when you have some leverage or something to bring to the table. Did the governing board seriously think Oracle gave a shite what they did or didn't do, and whether or not they exist? That's like an employee of a big corporation going way to the top and saying: "Hey, I want new coffee machines or I'm leaving right now!" Know what the response usually would be to that? Simple and to the point: "Ok, see ya! Don't let the door hit you on the way out." The Opensolaris governors board had no leverage, no strength, and absolutely nothing upon which to form an ultimatum, and Oracle held all the cards and now they've played their hand and won.